97 courses with the subject PHY, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PHY 100Selected Topics1-6
Exploration of a topic (to be determined) not covered by the standard curriculum but of interest to faculty and students in a particular semester.
Explores the fundamental laws which govern the universe with emphasis on the concept of energy as a unifying principle. No science prerequisites. Knowledge of elementary algebra required. Includes Laboratory.
Explores the fundamental laws which govern the universe. Presents overview of basic ideas and contemporary research in physics. No science prerequisites. Knowledge of elementary algebra required. Includes Laboratory.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the SU academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
First half of a two semester introduction to classical physics including mechanics and thermal physics. Uses calculus. Knowledge of plane trigonometry required.
Introductory calculus-based physics emphasizing topics important in modern research and technology. For students in the Honors Program, prospective physics majors, and others with strong science interests. Newtonian mechanics and selected modern topics. Student cannot receive credit for both PHY 215 and PHY 211.
Techniques of laboratory work: treatment of random errors, graphical representation of data. Experimental demonstration of principles of mechanics, thermodynamics, and waves (of vector forces, conservation of momentum and energy, thermal properties of gases).
Experimental study of principles of electromagnetism and their application in electrical circuits. Use of electronic instruments, such as the oscilloscope.
Introduction to modes of inquiry into physical law: Experimental observations, error handling techniques. Hypothesis generation and testing. Visualizing and writing for dissemination of acquired knowledge. Computers as scientific tools.
Introduction to modes of inquiry into physical law: Experimental observations, error handling techniques. Hypothesis generation and testing. Visualizing and writing for dissemination of acquired knowledge. Computers as scientific tools. Tools for electrical signal analysis.
Introduction to physics research by reading and critical discussion of articles from the current or recent physics literature. For physics majors and minors; others may enroll with permission of instructor.
Participation in a discipline- or subject-related experience. Students must be evaluated by written or oral reports or an examination. Limited to those in good academic standing.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the S.U. academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
In-depth exploration of a problem or problems. Individual independent study upon a plan submitted by the student. Admission by consent of supervising instructor or instructors and the department.
To acquire a knowledge and an understanding of the mathematics required for the physics degree programs. Topics include series expansions, complex numbers and functions, Fourier series and transforms, techniques for solving differential equations, and linear algebra and eigenvalue equations.
Properties of solar energy. Photons, blackbody radiation, and the planetary greenhouse effect. Solar thermal, solar electric, and biomass applications. Architectural and economic implications.
An introduction to nuclear physics and applications of nuclear physics in our society. Includes fundamentals of nuclear structure, decays, and energy. Applications include industrial uses, medicine, and power generation.
An introduction to the use of computers to solve problems in science. Development of algorithms, numerical solutions, plotting and manipulating data, statistical analysis and problems involving random numbers.
Introduction to spacetime and relativity, cosmological redshift, binary systems, black holes, gravitational waves, and the Big Bang. No science prerequisite. For non-majors and majors.
Introduction to quantum computers and their applications. Elements of quantum mechanics used in computing. Comparison of conventional digital and quantum computing. Prior enrollment in a physics course is not a requirement.
Signal, energy, and information processing by cells. Evolution; cell structure and function; neurophysiology; biological control, chaos; biological motors, pumps, and receptors; systems analysis, scaling, dimensionality; spectroscopy and biomedical imaging. Additional work required of graduate students.
This course uses statistical physics to understand economic theory. Physics topics include thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and random walks. Economic topics include macroeconomics, the labor market, and income distribution.
A broad introduction to important and timely topics in astrophysics. Topics will include our local universe (the Sun and Moon), cosmology (the universe as a whole), star formation, stellar evolution, compact objects, black holes, multi-messenger astronomy and gravitational waves.
This course explores how the interaction of light and matter explains cameras, vision, color, and images. Exploration of models of light, including rays, waves, and quanta, that explain optical phenomena. Includes experiments with light and discussion of applications of optics.
Familiarizing students with instrumentation used in modern laboratories. Topics include detectors used in science and medicine, electronic noise mechanisms, computerized data acquisition systems. Independent research projects are encouraged. Additional work required of graduate students.
Exploration of the rich behavior of vibrating and thermal systems. Simple harmonic motion, driven oscillators and resonance, normal modes, thermodynamics.
Modern physical theories, including statistical physics of many particles, and quantum mechanics. Applications to molecular, atomic, and nuclear structures. Principles of lasers, nuclear reactors. Particle accelerators.
The first in a two-course 300-level sequence covering intermediate modes of inquiry into physical law. An emphasis on growing independence in using tools and techniques for exploring the laws of nature. Scientific programming, advanced laboratory techniques, collaboration, and scientific writing/oral dissemination are all emphasized.
The second in a two-course 300-level sequence covering intermediate modes of inquiry into physical law. An emphasis on growing independence in using tools and techniques for exploring the laws of nature. Scientific programming, advanced laboratory techniques, collaboration, and scientific writing/oral dissemination are all emphasized.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the S.U. academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
An introduction to computational physics. Numerical methods, design of simulations, validation and interpretation, algorithm analysis, and computational and visualization tools. Applications to physical systems that are analytically difficult. Strong emphasis on technical writing and scientific presentation. Additional work required of graduate students.
Laboratory projects emphasizing mechanics, electromagnetism, and atomic physics. Projects include chaos in a compass needle, the Franck-Hertz experiment, and the Hall effect.
Introduction to the physics of soft (easily deformable) materials such as polymers, liquid crystals, membranes, and colloids. Learn to appreciate the myriad of phases in the world of squishy physics and their statistical behavior.
Integrated approach to solving physics problems that may cross traditional boundaries between courses. Improve the preparation of students for post-graduate education and physics-related careers.
Laboratory projects emphasizing optics and nuclear physics. Projects include diffraction, interferometry, detection of nuclear radiation, interaction of radiation and matter, and nuclear lifetime measurements.
Mathematical and observational methods in astronomy, including coordinate systems, parallax and apparent magnitude, command line computing, spectra, focusing power, the diffraction limit, interferometric design, orbital motion and Keplerian dynamics, order-of-magnitude estimates and secular dynamics.
Fundamentals of optics, including ray tracing, reflection, refraction, wave-nature of light, light-matter interactions, lasers and interferometers, microscopes and nonlinear optics. Develop foundations to understand optical systems and experimental skills to build optical systems.
Participation in a discipline- or subject-related experience. Students must be evaluated by written or oral reports or an examination. Limited to those in good academic standing.
In-depth exploration of a problem or problems. Individual independent study upon a plan submitted by the student. Admission by consent of supervising instructor or instructors and the department.
PHY 498Capstone Seminar in Energy and its Impacts3
Study of a local energy-related issue.. Study will be carried out in an interdisciplinary team. For students in the Integrated Learning Major on Energy and its Impacts.
The student will undertake an open-ended investigation of one or more physics experiments either in an active research laboratory or using departmental facilities. Ideas and progress will be discussed in regular seminars throughout the semester.
Fluid dynamics including Lagrangian vs. Eulerian fluid descriptions, inviscid and compressible fluids, viscosity and conduction, waves and oscillations, two-dimensional and incompressible flow, fluid instabilities, and boundary layer theory. Applications to astrophysics and/or biophysics.
Faraday's Law, displacement current, Maxwell's equations, plane waves, power flow in waves, reflection and transmission of waves, wave-guides, radiation, and antennas.
Laws of thermodynamics, temperature, work, heat. Thermodynamic potentials and methods. Application to special systems, low-temperature physics. Classical statistical mechanics. Quantum statistics. Connections between thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
Quantum mechanics from the standpoint of information science. Storage, transmission, and processing of quantum information. Quantum entanglement, quantum cryptography, and quantum computing. Open quantum systems, quantum entropy.
Problems with classical physics; one dimensional Schrodinger equation, concepts and illustrative problems; N particle systems including separation of center of mass, identical particles, and Pauli principle; Schrodinger equation in three dimensions.
Angular momentum including raising/ lowering operators and spherical harmonics; hydrogen atom; spin and addition of angular momentum; time independent perturbation theory; structure of and radiation from atoms; scattering; and elementary particles.
Elementary aspects of physics of solids; crystal lattices and diffraction, phonons and thermal properties in crystals, elementary band theory, and semi-conductor physics.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the S.U. academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
Calculus of variations. Fourier series and integrals. Matrices. Linear vector spaces. Orthogonal polynomials. Sturm-Liouville equations. Singular points of differential equations. Special functions. Distributions.
Mathematical and physical principles of general relativity and its applications, including tensor calculus, gravitational time dilation, black holes, the Schwarzschild metric, gravitational redshift, relativistic advance of periapsis, Shapiro delay, gravitational waves.
Necessary numerical and computations tools for research in physics. The scope and implementation of scientific simulation algorithms for solving specific physics problems.
An introduction to computational physics. Numerical methods, design of simulations, validation and interpretation, algorithm analysis, and computational and visualization tools. Applications to physical systems that are analytically difficult. Strong emphasis on technical writing and scientific presentation. Additional work required of graduate students.
Aspects of classical mechanics of significance to modern physical theory. Conceptual structure of Newton's mechanics, Lagrange's equations, Hamilton's principle, canonical equations and canonical transformations, Hamilton-Jacobi theory, small oscillations, rigid-body motion.
This interdisciplinary class for science and engineering students provides an introduction to the quantitative description of biological systems and processes. The focus is on the biological and physical aspects of structure and function of cells and their subsystems.
In this seminar course on soft and biological materials and interfaces, teams from science and engineering will identify, discuss and assess current articles from the literature. Writing skills related to publishing peer-reviewed research are introduced.
Review of Maxwell's equations, Relativity and Covariant electrodynamics, conservation laws, Green function approach. Radiation from point and extended sources. Radiation reaction.
Familiarizing students with instrumentation used in modern laboratories. Topics include detectors used in science and medicine, electronic noise mechanisms, computerized data acquisition systems. Independent research projects are encouraged. Additional work required of graduate students.
This course provides the skills needed to analyze experimental and observational data without getting lost in abstract general principles. While these skills are critical to experimental physics and astrophysics, they are also relevant to numerical approaches in theoretical physics.
Origins of quantum mechanics. Schrödinger and Heisenberg formulation. Problems in one, two, and three dimensions. Abstract formalism. Angular momentum and spin. Scattering theory. Symmetry properties. Perturbation methods. Identical particles. Applications to atomic and nuclear systems.
Origins of quantum mechanics. Schrödinger and Heisenberg formulation. Problems in one, two, and three dimensions. Abstract formalism. Angular momentum and spin. Scattering theory. Symmetry properties. Perturbation methods. Identical particles. Applications to atomic and nuclear systems.
Participation in a discipline or subject related experience. Student must be evaluated by written or oral reports or an examination. Permission in advance with the consent of the department chairperson, instructor, and dean. Limited to those in good academic standing.
In-depth exploration of a problem or problems. Individual independent study upon a plan submitted by the student. Admission by consent of supervising instructor or instructors and the department.
First and second laws of thermodynamics, Boltzman's integrodifferential equation, Gibb's statistical mechanics, petit and grand ensembles, quantum statistics.
PHY 750Topics in Advanced Condensed Matter/Physics Theory3
Electron band theory. Electron-phonon interaction. Superconductivity. Impurities in crystals. Many-body Green's function. Disorder and localization. Amorphous materials.
Classification of subatomic particles. Passage of particles through matter. Production, selection, and detection of high-energy particles. Invariance principles and dynamic laws of strong, electromagnetic, and weak interactions: their experimental discovery and confirmation. Review of outstanding problems.
Special and general theory of relativity. First semester: technical introduction to established theory. Part of second semester: current research topics.
Introduction to main ideas of modern cosmology. Expanding universe within general relativity; thermodynamics and cosmology; the cosmic microwave background; dark matter; dark energy and inflation; structure formation in the universe and connections between cosmology and particle physics.
PHY 831Statistical Mechanics of Fields and the Renormalization Group3
A continuation of graduate statistical physics. Topics include: collective modes and quasiparticles, Ginzburg-Landau theory, modern theory of phase transitions, and the renormalization group.
PHY 880Selected Topics in Advanced Theoretical Physics3
Topics vary over advanced field theory, gravitational physics, condensed matter theory, solitons, supersymmetry, cosmology, string theory, and others. With permission, may be taken more than once for credit.
In-depth exploration of a problem or problems. Individual independent study upon a plan submitted by the student. Admission by consent of supervising instructor or instructors and the department.
